Adobe Lightroom vs. Adobe Lightroom Classic: Which One Should You Use?

If you talk about photo editing, Adobe Lightroom and Lightroom Classic are certainly two of the best tools existing. Nevertheless, many photographers are at a loss when it comes to the selection of the version to use.

Is it best for you to opt for the cloud-based Lightroom, which comes with seamless synchronization over a number of devices? Or, maybe you like Lightroom Classic as many professional photographers use it and its photo and file management abilities can be more advanced than any other app in the market.

In this Adobe Lightroom vs. Adobe Lightroom Classic blog, we will compare their editing capabilities, usability, and workflow to help you make the best decision for your photography needs.

Adobe Lightroom vs. Adobe Lightroom Classic- A Quick Review

Pros

Cloud storage is accessible on all devices (mobile, desktop, web).
Offers the most essential editing tools, but lacks advanced options.
Uses Albums and AI-powered search for organization.
Faster for quick edits and mobile workflows.
Beginners, travelers, social media users.

Cons

Local storage, files managed manually on your hard drive.
Full-featured editing suite with more control over images.
Uses Folders & Catalogs with advanced metadata tagging.
Optimized for bulk editing and large RAW files.
Professional photographers, studio work, offline editing.

Adobe Lightroom vs. Adobe Lightroom Classic- How Do They Compare?

1. Editing Capabilities

Lightroom provides basic features for editing like exposure, contrast, color binds, cropping, and presets. Although, it does not have some advanced capabilities. With the Tone Curve panel leading the way, Lightroom Classic doesn’t skimp on any of the essential editing tools as it offers a full suite of advanced color grading, local adjustments, split toning, and more, which will give you more capability for professional work if serious photography is your craft.

This means that the former provides a simple ability to mask and select edits, but lacks the extensive range of options found in Classic. The classic offers highly efficient local adjustment tools, which include radial and graduated filters, adjustment brushes, and AI-powered masking guarantees the next level of professional accuracy. Thus, clearly Lightroom Classic is a better option for advanced editing in the Adobe Lightroom vs. Adobe Lightroom Classic debate.

2. Storage & Workflow: Cloud vs. Local Files

Lightroom saves every single photo of yours to Adobe Cloud, and you can reach or delete them on any device. It is an amazing tool for photographers in the field to have their pics available and safe on their device quickly. We no longer manually organize images in Lightroom with the help of AI-based search as it is now a standard process. It is simpler to find photos with face recognition and automatic keyword tagging.

Lightroom Classic has local storage that forces you to control all files manually on either hard drives or external storage devices. When it comes to organizing your photo files, it also has a catalog system based on folders, which is more advanced and customizable. This enables manually entering keywords for photos and organization of the metadata, besides controlling the file structure. This Adobe Lightroom vs. Lightroom Classic, both serve different purposes and are good in their fields.

3. Performance & Speed

Lightroom excels in quick edits, syncing across devices, and using on-the-go. This means the only downside is the fact that large RAW files may slow down the uploading time. Lightroom Classic, on the other hand, has the advantage of being optimized specifically for handling large files and bulk editing. On the flip side, it may be slower on lower-end machines because of the processing of a database-heavy.

Lightroom effectively edits JPEGs and RAW formats without any slowness and also the interface is brand-new so that the operation is fast and there is very little feedback latency. This still gets hampered when you have a wonky Internet connection and your internet begins to lag. Lightroom Classic works on local computers processes everything on the same device and is more spontaneous. You can also use the Smart Previews to edit photos quickly without having to load entire RAW Files. Thus, in the Adobe Lightroom vs. Adobe Lightroom Classic test, Lightroom Classic again takes the throne.

4. Usability

The well-arranged layout and the easy-to-understand features of Adobe Lightroom help with thorough modifications with fundamental editing tools. From the brightness change to the preset application, everything is so easy that it makes Lightroom Cloud good for people who need quick and easy solutions to edit.

Lightroom Classic offers a more advanced, feature-packed interface for professional photographers. It, then again, brings in a lot more power to manipulate images, so, the entry-tier users might need some time to understand the whole interface in the first place. The software consists of different modules, which are the Library, Develop, Print, and Web, and every function is peculiar to each module.

Conclusion

In the Adobe Lightroom vs. Adobe Lightroom Classic, we have established that many advanced photographers rely upon Lightroom Classic. It may offer advanced control, a greater degree of customization, and professional-class editing. At the same time, Lightroom may be a choice for people who are just starting, influencers, or mobile photographers with no interest in file management. Instead, they opt for a quick and easy method to adjust photos. Beginners should use Clouds Lightroom to commence with. As for the professionals, Lightroom Classic will likely be their choice!